Post-Mauryan Period Flashcards
Background
With the fall of the Mauryan Empire, pushyamitra shunga came to Magadha
However there were many large and small kingdoms which also came up in the Indian subcontinent after 185BC, with a deep influence
Indo greeks, Parthians, kushans and shakas came as invaders in Northwest India
Indigenous kingdoms like Satavahana, chola, chera and Pandya rose in Deccan and the southern India
Post Mauryan period was rich cultural interaction and saw the emergence of new centres of art and architecture
Increase in trade activities and economic prosperity in this period
Important sources of information about this period are: gargi samhita and mahabhasya of patanjali, malavikagnimitram of Kalidasa, harshacharita of banabhatta, milindapanho of nagasena, etc.
Works of Pliny, Plutarch and Ptolemy also throw light on the history of this period
Indigenous kingdoms in post-Mauryan period:
Shunga dynasty (185-75BC)
Kanvas Dynasty (75-30BC)
Satavahana (230BC-220AD)
Ikshvaku dynasty
Shunga dynasty (185-75BC)
Founded by pushyamitra shunga
He was a command general at the Mauryan Empire
He overthrew the last Mauryan king, brihadratha
His capital was Vidisha
Followed brahminism
Some accounts portray him as a persecutor of buddhists and the destroyer of stupas, but no authoritative evidences have been found so far
His successor was agnimitra sunga
He renovated the stupas at sanchi and barhut, further beautifying the sculpture stone gateway at Sanchi, originally built by Ashoka
Performed the vedic sacrifices like ashwamedha, rajasuya and vajapeya
Agnimitra’s reign lasted from 149 to 141BC. He was the hero of Kalidas’s poem, Malavikagnimitram
He was succeeded by Sujyeshtha and Vasumitra
This period witnessed the revival of brahminism and the growing importance of the bhagavat religion
The sunga ruler bhagabhadra built the Heliodorus pillar at Vidisha in MP, dedicated to Vasudeva in Sanskrit inscription, dated around 100BC
The last shunga king was devabhuti who was murdered by one of his ministers Vasudeva
Kanvas Dynasty (75-30BC)
Vasudeva was the founder of Kannada dynasty in 75BC
Puranas designate the Kanva dynasty as sungabrithyas or servants of the shungas
Empire was divided into eastern and Central India
Their capital was also Vidisha
They were Brahmins, tracing their lineage to Rishi Kanva
The last ruler of the Kanva dynasty was Susarman, killed by the Satavahanas
Satavahana dynasty (230BC-220AD)
Succeeded Mauryas in the Deccan region
In the puranas, they’re mentioned as Andhras, Andhrabhritiya and andhrajatiyah.
According to Puranas, they ruled for 300 years.
Aitreya brahmana mentioned them as the descendants of sage, Vishwamitra
Forest areas were cleared in certain regions of establishing villages.
Satavahanas built roads to facilitate better communication in the Northern Deccan, Godavari and Krishna delta regions.
Important Satavana Kings
Satakarni 1(106-130BC)
Lord of Dakshinapatha
Conquered Western Malwa, Anupa (Narmada valley) and vidarbha (Bihar)
After his death, the sakas attacked Satavahanas and pushed them out of nashik and towards Andhra
Hala (20-24AD)
The Matsya Purana mentions him as the 17th ruler of this dynasty
Famous for compiling gaha sattasai anthology for prakrit
Commander in chief, Vijayananda led a successful campaign in Ceylon
Gautamiputra Satakarni (106-130AD)
Under his leadership, Satavahanas attacked sakas and regained western Maharashtra
Kingdom from Krishna (south) to Malwa + saurashtra (north) and from berar (east) to konkan (west)
In a nashik inscription office mother gautami balashri, he is described as the destroyer of the shakas, pahlavas and yavanas (greeks). It is mention that he donated 200 nivaratnas of land to ascetics
Vashishtiputra Pulumayi (130-154AD)
Extended the Satavahana power to Krishna and conquered bellary
Married the daughter of saka ruler, Rudradaman 1, which is testified from Kanheri inscription to contain hostilities between the 2 kingdoms
During his reign, old stupas at amaravati was repaired.
Yajna Sri satakarni (165-194AD):
Recovered Malwa and Konkan from Sakas
Later, with the weakening of the Saka kingdom, the Satavahanas also conquered Kathiawad in the North and Krishna delta in the South
Aspects of material culture in Satavahana kingdom
Deccan people could use iron and agriculture well
Exploited the rich mineral resources of the Deccan region like iron ores from Karimnagar and Warangal and gold from the Kolar fields
Coins of lead were mostly issued, which was the main resource found in the Deccan alongside coins of copper and bronze
Regular use of fire baked bricks and use of roof tiles
Drains were covered to lead underground waste water into soakage bits
The Andhra in the east included 30 walled towns + numerous villages
Social condition in Satavahana kingdom
4 classes in social hierarchy
Gautamiputra satakarni re-established this system
Due to increased importance of towns, merchants named themselves after the towns to which they belonged
Mahabhojas, maharathis and mahasenapati where the highest strata of society
Merchants gave generous donations to the Buddhist monks
Mothers enjoyed the higher status in the Satavahana dynasty as the kings were named after their mothers. The names gautamiputra and vashishthiputra indicates the importance given to women in this period
Satavahana ruling family was patriarchal because succession to The throne was passed to the male member
Religious life in Satavahana kingdom
They were brahmins
Vedic customs were followed, like ashwamedha and vajapeya sacrifices performed by the satavahanas
Vaishnava cults of Krishna, Vasudeva, etc where highly worshipped during the period along with patronization of Buddhism
The cult of bodhisatva became popular during this period and anybody could attain enlightenment like Buddha through the path of buddha
Buddhism also flourished under the satavahanas through granting land and financial aid to the monks
Mahayana Buddhism became popular with the artisan class
Nagarjunakonda and Amravati in Andhra Pradesh became important Buddhist pilgrimage centres along with Nashik and junnar areas of Western Maharashtra
Administration in Satavahana kingdom
They follow Dharma shastras and considered King as the custodian of Dharma
The kings were compared to be Gods and mythical heroes like, Rama, bheema, Arjuna, etc
Many of the administrative mechanism during the time of Ashoka were retained by the rulers
The districts where called ahara, while the officials were called mahamatras or amartyas
The Kingdom was divided into administrative units ruled by civil and military governors
The rural administration was carried out by gaulmika (head of a military regiment of 9 chariots, 9 elephants, 25 horses and 45 soldiers)
Satabahana’s maintained and army of 1 lakh infantry, 2000 cavalry and 1000 elephants
The military character of the Satavahana Kingdom can be trace from the words like kataka and skandas used in their inscriptions
Satavahana’s granted tax free villages to brahmanas and Buddhist monks. These areas were free from any administrative interference and where independent within the Satavahana Kingdom
The Kingdom had three grades of feudatories, the highest grade was Raja or king, second was mahabhoja and third was senapati.
Art and architecture of Satavahana kingdom
Many chaityas (Buddhist place of worship) and viharas (monasteries) Venkat out of the solid Rock in North Western deccan or Maharashtra
Karle in Western Maharashtra is the most renowned site of Buddhist architecture, standing at 40 m length, 15m width and 15 m height.
3 viharas in Nashik (constructed in the second century AD) with inscriptions of Nahapana and gautami Putra found
The rocket architecture is also found in the Krishna-Godavari region in Andhra Pradesh
Some famous Buddhist stupas are in Amravati and nagarjunakonda
The Amravati stupa has culture that depicts various scenes from the life of Buddha. Its dome is measured 53m across the base and 33m in height
Nagarjuna Kaun the prospered under the patronage of ikshvakus, the successors of Satavahanas
Other than Buddhist monasteries, Nagarjunakonda has the earliest brahmanical brick temples.
Terracottas and their moulds where found from kondapur. These were owned by extremely rich people in town
Indian ivory has been found from Rome and Afghanistan. They are linked to the ivory objects excavated from Satavahana sites in the Deccan
Language in Satavahana kingdom
Prakrit was their official language
All of the inscriptions were in prakrit + Brahmi script (like Ashokan inscriptions)
Some Satavahana kings composed prakrit literary works
For example: Gathasattasai is written by Hals (700 verses)
The most celebrated prakrit port gunadya had written brihat katha
Economic condition
Well organised and systematic economy
All rounded development in the fields of agriculture, industry and trade
Agriculture was the main occupation of a large section of people
The paddy transplantation was a well known art of the satavahanas
The area between Krishna and Godavari formed a great rice Bowl
The grama Kshetra was a protected area by fences and field Watchmen against pests like birds and beasts
The entire coast tract from kaveripatnam to tamralipti was centre of commercial activity.
There were silver, copper, lead and potin coins in circulation.
In a village settlement found in Karimnagar of Telangana, carpenters, blacksmiths, goldsmiths, potters etc lived in separate quarters and agricultural and other labourers lived on the other end.
Weapons, sickles, balance rods and other equipments were excavated from Karimnagar and Nalgonda districts
18 types of guilds were mention in the literatures
Guilds became an important institution in the economy
These guilds implemented and defined the rules of work and controlled the quality of the finished product and its prices to safeguard both the artisans and the customers
Ikshvaku dynasty:
Successors of Satavahanas in the Deccan region
Ruled in eastern Krishna-guntur region from their capital at vijayapuri (nagarjunakonda, Andhra) during 3rd and 4th centuries AD
Not a lot of historical details available on them
Matsya Purana calls them as Shriparvatiya Andhras
They were Shaivites and performed Vedic rites
Buddhism was also patronized during their reign
Foreign kingdoms in post-mauryan period
Indo-Greeks
Sakas (Indo-Scythians)
Parthians
Kushanas
Kujula Kadphises
Vima Kadphises
Kanishka
